1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the supporting and setting of a long poles, such as utility poles, during their installation into a hole in the ground.
2. Description of the Related Art
Frequently, a utility pole, such as a telephone or electric pole, must be set into a hole in an upright position. In general, these utility poles can be difficult to handle because they are long and heavy, often ranging to lengths of twenty feet or more and weighing several hundred pounds. In the past, a flat-bed or another large truck often included a mechanism permanently mounted to either its front end or its cargo bed for supporting and setting utility poles. Alternatively, instead of such a truck, several crew members would lift, carry, and set the pole within the hole.
Several different types of front end truck-mounted mechanisms existed to assist the crew with installing a utility pole. One such device included a rotatable drum mounted to the vehicle's bumper or frame. To install the pole, crew members lifted the pole onto the drum so that one end of the pole was set against the top of the hole and the middle portion of the pole rested on the drum. The truck then drove toward the hole, the drum rotating the pole vertically and dropping it into the hole. This pole setting device required the pole to be lifted onto the drum by crew members at the work site. Further, the load of the pole was sometimes placed on the bumper and not directly transfer to the vehicle's chassis. This device was also fixedly mounted to the vehicle and could not be readily removed to another vehicle without significant effort.
Another type of front end mounted pole setting device included structure for transporting the utility pole above the truck. These devices included a support structure above the truck's cargo bed and front end, and a mechanism for setting the pole into a hole located in front of the truck. Often, the mechanisms for setting included a complex array of pulleys, cables, and booms. This type of pole setting device had a complicated setting mechanism and cumbersome structure. Further, the load of the pole was sometimes placed on the bumper and not directly transferred to the vehicle's chassis. The device was also fixedly mounted to the vehicle's front end and cargo bed, and thus not readily removable from the vehicle. As a result, the available cargo space decreased and the truck's usefulness for anything other than pole installation became diminished.
Cargo bed mounted structures for setting a pole off the rear of a vehicle have also included complicated mechanisms. These mechanisms often included booms, clamps, and cranks. In many cases, these devices were used for setting but did not include a means for transporting the pole to the work site. With these pole setting devices, the pole had to be lifted onto the setting mechanism by several crew members at the work site. Further, the load of the pole was sometimes placed on the bumper or cargo bed and not directly transferred to the vehicle's chassis. These devices were also not readily removable, resulting in a decrease in valuable cargo space.
In many instances, however, the desired location for setting the pole was not accessible to large trucks or the use of such trucks could damage the surrounding terrain. In these situations, a pole setting dolly was used to transport the pole to the site and to set it into the hole. Alternatively, several crew members would carry the utility pole to the hole location and erect the pole by hand. Both of these methods for installing a utility pole had the disadvantage of requiring several crew members to be at the work site.